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Cloud

Cloud discounts, support fees, credits and tax each follow different rules. Check what each charge is based on, not just the total.

What is each charge calculated on?

  1. 01Billing

    AWS support is based on gross charges.

    AWS calculates support before discounts, Savings Plans and credits. Enterprise rates run from 10% on the first $150,000 to 3% above $1 million. Upfront reservations count in the purchase month. A different contracted rate takes precedence.

    AWS Support pricing

  2. 02Billing

    Sales tax follows each linked account's address.

    AWS uses each linked account's tax address, not the payer's. An old address can put charges in the wrong state. Check addresses and the expiry dates of exemption certificates.

    AWS US tax help

  3. 03Deadline

    Google Cloud disputes are due before payment.

    Google's terms require a dispute before the payment due date. An accepted dispute produces a credit memo for future services, not a corrected invoice.

    Google Cloud terms, section 2.3

  4. 04Deadline

    Outage credits need a claim.

    EC2 claims are due by the end of the second billing cycle after the incident. Google Compute Engine requires notice within 60 days of qualifying. Both credit future bills.

    AWS EC2 SLA Google Compute Engine SLA

  5. 05Deadline

    Azure reservation exchanges change on 1 February 2027.

    New reservations lose exchange rights where a savings plan covers the service. Earlier purchases keep one final exchange. Cancellations remain capped at $50,000 per rolling 12 months.

    Microsoft Learn

  6. 06Avoidable

    Google's commitment measure has changed.

    New spend-based commitments use the discounted amount you pay, not the on-demand price. Renewing at the old amount can commit you to more than you need. The commitment cannot be lowered or cancelled.

    Google Cloud CUD documentation

Unused capacity and commitments are costs to reduce at the next opportunity. Correctly billed charges are not refunds.

The volume tier was priced per account.

Bill review / 01Illustrative

GPU capacity, September

Agreed
Pooled across accounts: first 100,000 GPU-hours at $4.70, then $3.60
Delivered
60,000 GPU-hours in each of two covered accounts
Owed
$542,000
Billed
$564,000
Potential difference$22,000

Subject to review. Nothing recovered yet.

See the calculation

$564,000 billed − $542,000 owed = $22,000 difference.

  • The contract pools both accounts for the month's volume tier.
  • 100,000 × $4.70 + 20,000 × $3.60 = $542,000. The invoice charges 120,000 × $4.70 = $564,000.
  • USD. No later amendment, minimum charge or existing credit changes the amount.

Illustrative. USD. Excludes taxes and other charges.

Start with one bill.

These are the records we will need. First, tell us the vendor and period so we can arrange the review.

Check a bill
  • Pricing agreement and commitments, with amendments
  • Full-month cost and usage export, such as CUR 2.0 or FOCUS
  • Invoices, credit memos and support charges
  • Reservation and Savings Plan inventory